Wielder: Apprentice: Book 1 of Lady Shey's Story (The Wielder Cycle) (4 page)

“I saw him,” Sheyna blurted out.

“Oh, you saw whom, dear?”

“The one searching for me. A man near the curved wall, he was watching the tower and talking to someone in the shadows.”

“What did you hear?”

“They were looking for a girl.” She hesitated. “He described a dark-headed girl with blue eyes, not a common description around Symbor that I have noticed . . . except for me.”

Enowene immediately tried to mask the worriedness that stole across her face, “Aye, they were looking precisely for you, my dear. As I stated, the tower is dangerous for you.” She removed her amulet from around her neck and handed it to Sheyna. “Here, put this on and wear it always while you are in this tower, even while bathing.”

“I couldn’t take that. I—”

“Put it on and do as I say, child. If you are to be apprenticed here, I am now your headmistress. No arguments.”

Sheyna took the amulet and hung it around her neck. Fascinated, she grabbed the emblem at the end of the chain and held it in her hand. The circular amulet was of a raised dragon in flight over a silver moon. She let the amulet drop to her chest. “Who would be looking for me, and why?”

“I’m not certain you would understand my explanation.”

“Why don’t you try.”

Enowene’s eyes narrowed. “Impertinent. Very well, you have a rare gift, and there are those who seek it out.” She wrote something on a piece of parchment. “I have been watching you on the streets for a while now. I made a vow to keep you safe, and that’s why I thought it best to hide you in plain sight.”

“What are you saying?”

Enowene strengthened her resolve. “Don’t get too comfortable here. You will not return to the streets, but it is too dangerous to keep you here too long either. If you would have stayed on the streets, no one would have paid any attention to you. You would have been just another unfortunate rogue orphan begging for scraps as I planned.”

Sheyna winched. “As planned? Why?”

“Why?” Enowene repeated.

“Why would you let me stay out there begging for food? If you knew me, you knew I was hungry out there in the wall.”

“I thought hiding you in plain sight was my best option.”

Sheyna ignored her statement. “I just want to know why you let me go hungry if you knew I was out there in the wall.”

Enowene sighed. “It was seen by the masters that you have special talents; it was decided that your skills both put you in danger and protected you. Although we allowed you to roam the streets, we knew that if we took care of your basic needs, you would not wander away and we could keep an eye on you. We tried to place you with a family, but your independent nature proved too difficult. I made a few arrangements for you. Ignacio at the Sleeping Hound is a very dear friend of mine. I have been paying for the food he has been feeding you. He was instructed to never refuse you, to never let you be seen in the kitchen, and to not tell you that someone was paying for your meals. Bahdur is not, and has never been, fooled by your supposed thievery. He purposely put loaves of bread within your reach whenever he noticed you in the shadows across the way. He has been very impressed by your little enchantments.”

Sheyna’s jaw dropped. It took her a moment to speak. “You mean I could have been eating like a princess and I didn’t know it?”

Enowene grinned. “Eating too well might have worked against the plan, but all of that is over with now.” She looked Sheyna directly in the eye. “You have to understand that it was not easy for me to let you stay out on the streets. I definitely wouldn’t have let you starve. If you had not visited Ignacio or Bahdur, I would have found another way to feed you. When you are older, you will realize that sometimes you have to do things that seem unusual, things that you don’t want to do. It is all for the greater good. As I said, you were hidden in plain sight. At any rate, you will be well fed here.” Enowene pointed to the door. “Go now and bring in Marella from the hall.”

“But I have more questions.”

“Please, can they wait until later? I promise we will sit down and talk soon.”

Sheyna nodded and went to open the door. Marella stepped inside, still giving Sheyna an awful, sour look.

Enowene leaned back in her chair and clasped her hands together. “You do not share your rooms with anyone at present, do you, Marella?”

Marella grimaced at the question before shaking her head that she did not. She cocked an apprehensive eyebrow at Sheyna. Marella’s face briefly contorted into an unpleasant scowl before she put back on the falsely-pleasant countenance for the benefit of Enowene.

Enowene nodded to Marella. “Well, introductions are in order.”

The silence was palpable.

“Marella?” Enowene cajoled.

Marella let out a heavy sigh. “My name is Marella Arden,” she stated coldly.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am called Sheyna Namear.”

“Fitting, I have a horse named Sheyna,” Marella commented sarcastically. “She is a stupid horse, barely trainable.”

“Marella, we do not act so rudely,” Enowene scolded. “You are supposed to be a princess with manners.”

“I mean, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Sheyna was unsure of how to reply. She just stood there frozen.

“Better. Marella, you will take Sheyna back to your rooms and show her around the tower. She is to share your accommodations, you understand.” Enowene started writing furiously on parchment with her quill. “And Sheyna dear, you will return here in the morning while the others attend their studies, and I will instruct you personally until you catch up.” She absently waved her hand and motioned for them to leave the room without looking up from her parchment.

Sheyna could scarcely contain her excitement at having a room to go to, but she could tell the blonde girl was less than pleased with the news. Marella left the chamber without a word, and Sheyna quickly followed. She tried to stay close behind, but the girl kept running ahead and ducking down hallways and darting behind doors, obviously trying to lose her. Marella would soon discover that Sheyna was a difficult girl to lose. Suddenly, Marella turned to face her.

“Stop following me!”

Sheyna cocked an eyebrow. “You realize that wouldn’t make much sense? I am supposed to follow you.”

“I don’t like you, and I won’t share my rooms with you.”

“Look, blonde girl, I don’t care how you feel about it. Enowene made the decision. You don’t have to like me.”

Marella stood glaring at Sheyna, and then she plopped down in the hallway and leaned against the wall. “I will stay right here all night, then, if I have to . . . dark-headed girl.”

“Are you trying to insult me? It just does not quite have the same ring to it, does it, blonde girl?” Sheyna sneered. “How did you become so spoiled?”

“I am a princess of Trigothia; I do not have to share rooms with anyone.”

“What is wrong with you? Are all the girls here as childish as you? Why is it such an important issue that you have the rooms to yourself? I don’t understand.”

Marella became more furious. “Aye, you cannot understand because you are common.”

Sheyna rolled her eyes. “Princess or not, you are as common as I am.”

Marella got up and bolted down the hallway. Sheyna followed close behind.

“Go away, common black-haired girl,” Marella yelled back.

“You’re senseless,” Sheyna retorted. “And your insult falls short of the mark!” Sheyna noticed doors from the rooms in the hallway were opening as they passed by. Girls were looking out to see what the commotion was about.

“Stop!” Sheyna commanded as she ran up on Marella’s heels.

Marella stopped and whirled around to stand face-to-face with her. “You think I care about any of these nosy . . .”

“What?” Sheyna said, pushing Marella against the wall.

Marella’s face went bright red with anger, and she clumsily tried to slap Sheyna in the face. Deftly, Sheyna responded and ducked the blow, returning instinctually to punch Marella squarely in the eye instead. Marella fell to her backside, staring at Sheyna in shock. “You hit me!”

“You swung first.” Sheyna seized the opportunity and grabbed Marella’s collar, pulling her up from the floor and close to her face. “You are spoiled and pampered, and we will have no more of this foolishness as long as you want to keep that pretty face of yours pretty.” She let Marella fall back. “Now, I have not slept in a bed in a very long time, and people are staring at us acting like fools. It is embarrassing, and I very much wish to go to sleep. Get up and take me to
our
rooms.” Marella did not move. “Now!” Sheyna commanded, stomping her foot for emphasis. She disliked being so confrontational and she instantly regretted punching the girl, but she wanted to get her point across.

Marella stood up with her hand over her eye. “If you left a mark, you will be out on the streets before breakfast.” Sheyna again raised her fist. “All right, stop, I will take you to my rooms.”

“Our rooms,” Sheyna corrected.

“Our rooms,” Marella leered and then added, “At least for tonight. As soon as I tell Mistress Enowene how you hit me, you will be out of my rooms before lunchtime.”

Sheyna followed Marella down the hallway and up a winding staircase onto the lower floors of the upper tower and then through a wooden door with the number three carved into it. The room was dimly lit with a single candle on a center table with two chairs. A round window with blue curtains let in the light from the moon. Two doorways opposite each other at the north and south walls entered into individual bedchambers. More tapestries hung on the walls on either side of the doors, but it was too dark to see what was displayed on them.

“There is a bed in that room,” Marella said, pointing to the south door. “I keep my dresses in there; don’t touch them. I will remove them tomorrow, if you are still here by some miracle.”

Sheyna ignored Marella’s comment and went directly into the room. The bed had already been turned back for her. She welled up with excitement as she looked over the room in the low light. Another round window with blue curtains was inset in the east wall, and a chest of drawers and a dresser lined the west wall. A wardrobe stood open against the south wall, full of what she assumed to be Marella’s dresses. Sheyna found a nightgown draped over the end of the bed, and she put it on, laying her blue dress carefully on the chest of drawers. She climbed into bed and pulled the quilted covers snug to her neck. Enowene warned her about becoming too comfortable, but for today, she did not care. This bed, any bed, beat the hard, stone hole on the wall she slept in before.

“Good night, Marella,” she shouted. There was no reply.

Whatever might happen in the morning did not matter; she knew from her talk with Enowene that she would not be thrown out of the tower. Maybe she would get another roommate, maybe a nicer roommate! Sheyna closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.

Mistress Enowene stepped out of the side door that faced the courtyard, walked to the spot where the wall curved behind the hedge, and turned into the shadows, where she stopped.

“Mistress, what brings you out here?” a voice said from the darkness.

“You have been careless, Akros, the girl saw you out here staring at the tower windows. Who were you talking to in the shadows?”

“She is here, then? For how long?”

“I have known about her for some time now. Answer my question.”

“You could have let me know. I would have kept the secret.”

“My dear Akros, you may have been able to keep my secret, but I couldn’t risk it.”

“You are telling me now; something must have changed. I suppose you have taken her into the tower, then.”

“Naturally. It is too dangerous for her out here. Will you report where she is? You were talking to one of your master’s agents, were you not?”

“Of course I won’t report her. Now that you have moved her, I can tell my master I found her hiding spot at the tower wall and say that she has run off.”

Enowene nodded. “Excellent plan. Keep our friend off her trail until I can get her away from here. Remember who you
actually
work for.”

“I will do what I can,” the blond man said.

A rustling of something leathery ensued from the side of the tower. “I am afraid you are too late. Did you believe I could not see though this man’s deceptions?” A mind-numbing screech pierced the darkness, and a bulky, black-winged dragon-like creature, about the size of a horse, leaped from the darkness, clipping Akros, knocking him down.